Method, narrative and historiography in Michael Mann's sociology of state development

‘This paper argues that the work of Michael Mann is distinguishable from neo‐Weberian sociology in four ways. The first is his fusion of structural conceptions of large‐scale social change to the empirics of individual action. The second is his fourpart theorisation of social power and its implications for the analysis of the state. The third is his endeavour to find a middle ground between comparativist and linear historiographies. The fourth is his combination of contextual specificity and nomothetic generality. While each of these areas will be approached critically, the paper will conclude that Mann's sociology has significantly contributed to our understanding of macro‐historical change.’